


McDanno Multiverse- Steve Fucking Pissed Off Aphrodite

by JackMcGarrett



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Awkwardness, Bisexual Steve McGarrett, Cute Kids, Fix-It of Sorts, Greek Mythology - Freeform, Greek gods, M/M, Male Slash, McDanno Multiverse, Multiverse, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Other Fandoms Referenced inside, Parent Steve McGarrett, Slash
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-08
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:29:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23548420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JackMcGarrett/pseuds/JackMcGarrett
Summary: Steve made a mistake. Plain and simple. Well, actually not so plain and not so simple. He's pissed off the Greek Goddess of Love by breaking up her OTP, so she asks Hermes for a favor.Hermes sends Steve and Catherine to another dimension(or possibly several, I haven't decided yet) where McDanno has been happily married for quite some time.Steve and Catherine see what could have and should have been between Steve and Danny. It gets awkward. So, so awkward.
Relationships: Steve McGarrett/Danny "Danno" Williams
Comments: 116
Kudos: 110





	1. Buckle Up Kid

The emotions coursing through as the flight went on were plenty. The farther he got from Hawaii the larger the knot in the pit of his stomach grew. 

_ Was he making a mistake?  _

There was suddenly a horrible patch of turbulence and all the lights of the plane went off before flickering back on. 

Blinking his vision back into focus, Steve sat up straight when he noticed that everyone else on the plane seemed to vanish. Just as panic began to set, in another blink, where Catherine once was, sat a man, who smirked at him. Dressed in a mail delivery service uniform, except wearing a trench coat and a fedora, which was a very weird clash.

“Kid, you have no idea how  _ big _ of a mistake you just made.” 

“Who the hell are you? Where is everyone?” Steve demanded. 

“Relax. They’re fine. I just needed a moment alone with ya. Name’s Hermes. Aloha.” 

“Hermes? Like...the Greek God?” Steve wasn’t an expert in mythology but he knew the basics. 

The man’s smirk widened into a smile. “The very same.”

Steve scoffed. He sat down normally and took a deep breath and spoke to himself, “This is...this is just a weird dream. I fell asleep on the plane after eating crappy airline food.” 

“Is  _ that _ the deal with airline food? Makes you have weird dreams? I’ll have to talk to Hypnos about that.” Hermes muttered to himself before he turned his attention back to Steve. “Look, I got work to do, so let’s just get this over with.” 

“This dream? Yes. Lets. I’m ready to wake up.” Steve replied. 

Hermes laughed, “Kid, what you’re doing isn’t a dream come true. It’s a nightmare in the making. That’s why Aphr called in a favor.” 

“Aphr?”

“Aphrodite. You, Steven Jack McGarrett, done got the Goddess of Love pissed off.” Hermes told him very seriously. 

“What? What the hell are you talking about?” 

“You _left_ Danny! That’s your Endgame! Ten years in the fucking making in a very dramatic, and entertaining, will they/won’t they that should have led to a ‘They Fucking Will’, only to be beaten by the laziest fucking writing I’ve ever seen. Not even Chuck is this lazy.” 

“Who?”

“Christian God,” Hermes said dismissively. “Point is, you ruined Aph’s OTP and she asked me to make you pay, so...buckle up kid. Shit’s about to get weird, awkward...and a bit dicey.” 

He winked, but before Steve could ask him what he meant, he was gone. The lights flickered again and in another blink, everyone on the plane was back. Catherine back at his side. “Steve?”

Before he could answer her, another rough patch of turbulence happened but this one didn’t stop. The plane then began to drop. The masks descended, people screamed and scrambled to try to buckle in. Lightning flashed from the outside as the plane continued its pitfall, the light outside getting brighter and brighter until they were all blinded by a white light. 


	2. Should Have Gone To Jersey w/ Danno

“What’s the damage looking like, Duke?” Steve asked as he tried to survey said damage himself. Around him, HPD, HFD, as well as some military personnel were all working together with different stations set up all along the beach. 

“The plane seemingly came out of nowhere. Doesn’t seem to be any sort of specialized military aircraft. It actually seems like a commercial flier.” Duke replied. 

“And it was off the radar?” Steve asked with a raised eyebrow. 

“It’s a weird one for sure. It crashed into the water but it’s mostly intact. Right now we’re focusing on getting the survivors safely to land.” Duke told him. 

“Right. Well, Tani and Junior are on the way. Quinn should be here already. I’m going to go see if I can find her.” Steve told him. 

His phone buzzed as he walked down the beach. Looking at it he smiled as he read Danny’s text. The picture was of his husband and father-in-law as they visited Eddie’s old fire station. 

**_Steve_ ** _ : I’m ordering a fireman’s costume on Amazon. I’m gonna have fun playing w/ ur hose ;) _

**_Danno_ ** _ : Ur such a menace!  _

**_Danno_ ** _ : Make sure u use Prime so it’s there by the time I’m there.  _

Steve smiled happily. Despite how long they’ve been married, it’s like they never left the honeymoon phase. 

**_Steve_ ** _ : Call you later. At a scene.  _

“Boss!” 

Steve looked over to where he heard Quinn’s voice. “Hey, Quinn. Whatcha got?” 

“Uh...well, boss it’s weird,” Quinn said with a confused look to match. 

“Yeah, I heard. Duke said the plane just showed up out of nowhere? Commercial liner and not a military vessel.”

“That is very weird but there’s something even... _ weirder _ .” Quinn paused as she eyed Steve with a squint. “Quick...random...and like I said,  _ weird _ , question. You’re not a twin, right? Or have any weirdly very related cousins who look a lot like you, right?” 

“What?” Steve demanded with a head tilt. That question really  _ was _ weird. 

“Yeah, that’s what I thought. I didn’t know what to believe either so...just come with me.” Quinn said as she began to walk down the beach. 

“What the hell is going on, Quinn?” Steve demanded. 

“Just wait. I both envy Danny for being in Jersey right now and sorry he’s gonna miss this.” She told him, which again didn’t help him realize what she was on about. 

Until he heard it. 

What was _it_? 

His own voice.

His own voice arguing with a military officer. 

“My name is Commander Steve McGarrett with Five-Oh! I want to speak with Governor!” 

“Sir, you and your friend were passengers on the plane. We have strict instructions to follow. After you’ve been cleared by medical, you will be told where you’re going to go.” The officer replied. 

“What the ever-loving hell…” Steve blinked and blinked again. But still, his vision didn’t change. 

“Oh my god…” 

Steve’s attention went to the woman.  _ Catherine _ ? 

“What the fuck?” His carbon copy demanded in a whisper as his eyes widened when he landed on him. 

“I should have gone to Jersey with Danny…” Steve muttered to himself already feeling a _huge_ headache coming on. 


	3. All's Fair in Love and War

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To avoid confusion the Steve from canon will be continued to be called Steve. The one who's happily married in the McDanno union, will be called Steven.

If Steve could be pacing, he would be. But he was cuffed to the table of a small military interrogation room, waiting for someone to come in and tell him... _anything_! 

All of this was insane! 

He’s not sure what the hell that encounter was on the plane, but no way could it have been an actual god, right? Steve’s been in a few crashes, airplane ones included, and that landing was one of the weirdest. 

If that wasn’t enough, once rescued no one would listen to him or his rank and provide him with answers! 

Lastly...that carbon copy of himself. 

What in the ever-loving hell was going on? 

The door opened and Steve sat up straight. The man who came through was wearing camo gear but not in a professional way like most military personnel are supposed to. Not when he was wearing a leather biker jacket and sunglasses. Yet the aura that the guy possessed was something Steve could literally _feel_. 

“Ya know...when someone pissed off Aphrodite, I never thought it’d be one of my disciples.”

Steve cocked his head to the side. “What?” Then he caught the on the shiny plated name tag. _Ares_. 

“I’m not anyone’s disciple! I’m basically an atheist!” Steve exclaimed. 

Ares scoffed, “That why you prayed to exchange your life for Williams’ when you weren’t sure he was gonna make it?” 

Steve’s eyes widened at that. He’d been alone when he prayed. Gulping loudly, he eyed the supposed god up and down. “Were you…?” 

“You’re a soldier, so yeah, I heard ya. But that miracle didn’t come from me.” Ares told him. Before Steve could ask a follow-up, Ares snapped his fingers and the cuffs from Steve’s wrist disappeared. “Let’s get this show on the road.” 

Rubbing his wrist where the cuff had been, Steve stood but asked, “What’s going on? What’s happening?” 

Even with the shades covering his eyes, the expression Ares gave him easily read, ‘Seriously? I gotta explain this to you?’ before the god sighed and did just that. 

“You popped into this universe in a plane crash. And met your alternative self. You know better than some that the military ain’t like the Disney Channel. If it weren’t for me making every damn soldier in this joint agree on my pure will to let you and Rollin’s go, you two and possibly the McGarrett of this place would be on a black sight getting poked and prodded. Luckily for you...ya know, given circumstances and all, Aphrodite’s got me to help her out in this scheme. So no poking or prodding and no questions. But for the love of me, hurry up and learn your damn lesson. I ain’t got time to keeping breakin’ ya out of trouble.” 

“You’re the god of _war_ !” Steve heard the speech and he understood it to the best of his capacity at the moment. But still, he was baffled. “How could anyone make _you_ do _anything_? And what’s this damn lesson I’m supposed to learn anyway?” 

Ares stopped by the door and sized Steve up before tsking. “You ever hear the phrase ‘All’s fair in love and war’?” 

“Yeah…” 

“I ain’t got to explain me and Aphrodite to ya. But war and love? They go together. Because there is no emotion more dangerous than love. The shit we do for it? Because of it? It’s lethal. And there ain’t no more dangerous battlefield to cross. Now move it, soldier. Your party’s waiting for you.” 

* * *

The ride back to the McGarrett home was a quiet, awkward one. 

Steven wasn’t even sure how they managed to leave the military authority within an hour. Let alone that he was allowed to bring his double and Catherine’s double back with him. (He assumed it was also Catherine’s double, but he hasn’t spoken to the Catherine of this world in a very long time, and with how they ended it would be awkward to reach out now. So he wasn’t going to unless absolutely needed and merely assume it was a double.)

His other self had actually tried to be the one to drive them back home, which made Quinn smirk, but Steven made it clear that _he_ was the one driving! With the doubles in the back, he and Quinn in the front, and the radio trying desperately to fill the silence. 

Steven kept looking back at his other self through the rearview mirror. They were so alike in many ways, and yet different in others. He, for example, had more of a salt and pepper thing going on while the other’s hair was darker. And yet his double had darker circles under his eyes and looked older via exhaustion that went beyond physical. 

A ray of sunlight bounced off of his wedding ring and he couldn’t help but try to see if his other had one too. Sending a side glance to Catherine’s left hand. He was somewhat relieved not to see a ring on there, even though it made little sense for him to be worried. 

Their being there would affect nothing in his life or his marriage. 

Though that made him think of Danny. 

Fuck, Danny was going to kill him! 

* * *

Not wanting to bring any unwanted attention, Steven parked in the garage and led them in through the kitchen. It was then that he realized this was a stupid and horrible idea. 

“You guys gotta go,” Steven stated. 

“Where are they gonna go?” Quinn asked. 

“I live here!” Steve argued, even though he felt out of his mind with weirdness. 

“No, you don’t! I do! And with-” Before Steven could finish, the front door opened. 

“Commander? We saw your truck pulling up into the garage. You’re home early!” Gerard called out from the living room. 

There was the pitter-patter of little feet on the floor followed by a cry of, “DADDY!” 

Steven couldn’t help but smile as he knelt and caught his toddler son who jumped into his arms and hugged him. The kid looked over when he felt eyes on him and when he saw an almost identical man who looked like his father, he frowned deeply and then hid his face in Steven’s chest. 

“Tani texted to expect you guys to be late. Which, ya know, if you didn’t have the family and friends plan with me your babysitting charges would be...through…” Gerard stopped midsentence when he came into kitchen, holding a ten-month-old in the baby carrier sling. He looked between the pair of wide-eyed brunettes ‘strangers’ to the one he knew and said, “Danny leaves for _one_ weekend and you’ve already made a clone?” 

Steven glared at Gerard before going over to caress the baby’s hair and kiss the top of his head. “Not helpful.” 

“Hey! I am your Manny, I am nothing but helpful!” Gerard exclaimed. 

“Manny?” Quinn asked with a raised eyebrow. 

“Male nanny. Should you ever have a lethal bundle of joy yourself, I’m sure Steve will give me a wonderful reference.” Gerard told her happily, not at all affected anymore with the awkwardness that was apparently ongoing with the ‘strangers’. 

“After the wall incident, I highly doubt it.” Steve deadpanned. 

“That was all Charlie.” Gerard defended himself. 

“Charlie’s still technically under your charge, so it’s still on you,” Charlie replied in a monotone voice as he ventured into the kitchen while looking down at his videogame device. 

“Technicalities. You’re old enough to know better, kid.” Gerard said as Charlie looked up and saw the two other people in the room. 

Charlie’s eyes widened as he looked between the man he’s sure is his father and the look-a-like. Then he deadpanned at Steve, “Danno’s gonna kill you.” 

“It wasn’t my fault!” Steven protested. 

“When has that ever worked?”  
“When has that ever worked?”  
“When has that ever worked?” 

Gerard, Quinn, and Charlie asked at the same time. 

Then Charlie smirked, “This means we’re having pizza tonight! _I_ get to choose the toppings!” 

Steven frowned, “Tonight’s not pizza night. We’ve got that casserole in the freezer.” 

“Oh yum,” Charlie said with an eye roll before he smirked a bit. “Danno doesn’t know about this, does he? Unless you wanna lecture from Jersey all the way to here, we’re having pizza.” 

“That’s blackmail.” Steven gasped lightly. Then he sighed, “Fine. We can have pizza, but with a healthy side. Order a salad.” 

Charlie looked between his dad and the look-a-like before crossing his arms and giving his dad an unimpressed look. “You’re insulting my intelligence, dad. _This_? Is worth a new video game system, a stack of video games, and a dirt bike. I’m being generous here and only asking for pizza, fries, and ice cream.” 

“You’re forgetting to take something into account, kid,” Steven told Charlie.

“What’s that?” 

“I’m still the dad here, and I say what goes.” 

“Aaaaand...what you’re saying is two pizzas and an order of fries?” Charlie asked cheekily. 

Steven sighed before he passed the toddler over to Charlie. “Go help Gerard get them changed and make the order.” 

Charlie smiled as he accepted his brother and followed Gerard up to the nursery. 

Steve watched the whole exchanged with a dry throat and widened eyes. _Kids_. He had kids. And his eyes couldn’t help but lock onto the wedding band on his copy’s left hand. _Married_. 

He was married, and he was a father...and Gerard was their Manny.

“W-wait, that was...that was Charlie. He...he called you dad?” Steve asked very confusedly. 

Steven returned the confused stare, sharing an odd look between his clone and Catherine, before stating. “Danny and I married before Charlie was born. As far as he, and everyone, the law included, are concerned, I’m his dad.”

“You married Danny?” It probably surprised Steve more that it was Catherine who demanded that. He was too stunned into silence to voice it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know on the show Charlie's this really sweet kid. But this is a Charlie who was brought up as the son of Married McDanno. So he's bound to be a bit sassier x3 
> 
> I hope you guys like it! I'm having a lot of fun writing this!


	4. The Family's Alright

“You married Danny?” 

The question was followed by a bit of awkward silence. Catherine’s tone had been judgemental and something Steven has dealt with from time to time. Thankfully not too often, but it still made him defensive. In this moment, maybe a bit more so. Even if he knew a Catherine, the way things ended with her in his world hadn’t been pretty. But this was a Catherine from seemingly another place, that just dropped in with another version of him, and was judging him for a life decision that made him extremely happy?

“Of course I did.” He said without room for argument. But Steven being Steven, followed it up with a challenging, “Why wouldn’t I?” 

“You’re... _ men _ .” 

“Yeah, I’m well aware of that fact. Actually, Danny’s  _ assets _ and his thorough knowledge of how to use them is why we’re very happily married.” He wasn’t always that vulgarly petty when people had an issue with him being in a same-sex marriage. Most of the time he didn’t care or bat an eye. But there were times, few thankfully, when he really wanted to piss off the homophobes that were  _ somehow _ offended by him being in love with another man. 

“Boss, I love you and Danny, but please spare me the details.” Quinn butted in. Her tone was a lot lighter, though she did side-eye Catherine and even the other Steve. She felt like she had to be here to help...keep the peace? “Why won’t we all just grab something to drink and chill until the pizzas arrive?” 

Quinn was the one to move and grab the drinks from the fridge and pass them out as everyone went towards the living room. 

Steve took a seat in the two-seater, and Catherine took the spot next to him. Even if it made sense that they would feel the need to stay close in this very familiar and yet foreign world, Steven felt very weird about the action. But he tried to ignore it as he took his seat on the bigger sofa while Quinn claimed the armchair. 

They opened their beers and drank awkwardly, no one sure what to bring up first. 

Steve was a bit distracted by some of the things around the house that made this place different than his own. The obvious baby proofing that was evident. Socket covers on the outlets, protective covers on the corners of the coffee tables, random toys here and there, a baby’s blanket draped over the sofa his double was on, and of course the pictures. There were a lot more pictures around. 

His double’s wedding to the Danny of this world was the one that caught his eye the most. They both were looking at the other, not the camera. Completely smitten, in love, and ultimately happy. 

Steve wasn’t sure what all of the feelings bubbling to the surface were, and before he could try to understand them, they had a distraction!

Another bout of pitter-patter was heard before someone crashed into his legs with the enthusiastic cry of, “Daddy!” 

Steve’s breath caught before he swallowed thickly. This was his son. Maybe in another world, but...fuck, this was one of his  _ four _ children! Before he could act, the little boy scrunched his nose at him and then looked at his actual father and ran to him. 

His double picked up the boy naturally and held him close and protectively. The sight was something that was becoming engraved into Steve’s mind. 

He could have had this. 

Why didn’t he have this? 

“Danno no gon’ wike…” Steve heard the toddler say. Followed by, “What daddy do?”

“Daddy didn’t do it.” His double argued. 

Steve had no idea what sort of trouble or just how much trouble his double seemed to get into because even the toddler in his arms gave him a sympathetic tap on the chest at the excuse. 

“Lex bleef daddy….Danno no.” The boy said ‘solemnly’. When Quinn laughed at his response, the boy turned and smiled at her and waved, “Hi Quinn! How you?”

“Hi, Alex. I’m good. How’s your day?” Quinn loved interacting with Steven and Danny’s kids. They were so adorable and sweet. 

“Gweat! Cha-lie say we’s habin’ peepza! Lex likes peepza lots!” The toddler exclaimed as he rubbed his tummy in enthusiasm. Then his eyes widen and he began to bounce on Steven’s lap, “Daddy! Daddy! Guess what! Guess!” 

Steven smiled at his son, ignoring the new set of looks that held variedly different emotions. “What baby?”

“We’s at pawk and and and a boo-fly lan’s on Scotty nose! Scotty do funny look like dis to twy see!” Alex said as he tried to cross his eyes to mimic his brother. 

“It did? That’s amazing!” Steven exclaimed. 

“Gerard took like a billion pictures. I’m surprised you haven’t seen it.” Charlie said as he came back holding the other child before passing him over to Steven and taking a seat on the couch with toddler Alex between them. 

“Gerard is dreading your teen years if these are barely the beginning of your tween years,” Gerard said as he himself came back into the room. He sat on one of the armrests of the armchair Quinn was in before he gestured to the group. “So...what we’d miss?”

“We covered Danny and Steve’s marriage,” Quinn replied, with a look to Gerard. 

The other caught on but it was Charlie who spoke next. “Does your Charlie have a motorbike? I’ve been trying to convince my dads to get me one  _ forever _ !” 

“Uh...um, no,” Steve said awkwardly. 

Maybe too awkwardly. Or maybe Danny’s detective skills were inherited by Charlie and better honed with living with a married Danny and Steven. Because he picked up on it, as well as the comment about his dads’ marriage. “You’re not married to Danno? You’re not your Charlie’s dad?” 

Steve didn’t know why he felt even worse by the question. Maybe it was because it was Charlie who asked it. He liked to think he was an important part of Danny’s kids’ life. That he was an important role and that they could trust him with anything. But this was another meaning. Another experience. This was a Charlie who grew up seeing him with the same authority as Danny. Who didn’t bat an eye of calling his other self ‘dad’ because that’s what he’s always been...and he was recognized as such. 

“This seems to be a case of a multiverse. Another universe, parallel to our own. Almost identical...with slight changes.” Gerard offered an answer when no one seemed to be able to answer. “Any ideas of how this happened?” 

“We were just on a plane. Then it was suddenly dropping. There was a bright light and then...we were crashing into the ocean here.” Catherine replied as she couldn’t look away from the baby playing with both one of his toys and Steven’s shirt. 

“Are you two married?” Charlie asked, though his voice came out more accusatory. Steven didn’t reprimand him or anything as he himself also waited for an answer. 

“ _No_!” Steve replied quickly with a shake of his head. 

The weird sense of relief that Steven felt might not have been shared by Catherine considering the look she sent Steve. 

A weird tension fell among them which Gerard filled with showing them pictures of the kids at the park until the pizzas arrived. Once the food was there, they filled the silence with that. Steven felt both stares from Catherine and his other self and because Alex kept trying to hide behind him, sensed that the kids might be a bit of a mystery. 

“We’re fostering them. Though we already filled out the adoption papers, and we’re dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s, but it’s still an on-going process.” Steven supplied. 

“Alex and Scotty are brothers…” Charlie said with a sad smile as he handed Scotty his crust so he could use it as a teething toy. 

“There was a case and their parents didn’t make it. With no other family, they were gonna be placed in the system. Most likely separated. Danno and I couldn’t let that happen. So after a few calls, we brought them home. We fell in love with them so easily and they with us...it’s almost hard to believe they weren’t ours from the moment they were born.” Steven said as he smiled at his son who was trying to share his crust with Steve. 

There was silence before Steven’s phone rang. As much as Steven wanted to talk with Danny, he couldn’t help but feel like this was all somehow his fault and Danny was going to be pissed at him. But he couldn’t not answer either! 

“I gotta take this,” Steven said as he stood and took Scotty with him towards the kitchen before pressing the answer button. “Hey, babe. How’s Jersey?”

_ “Good. All good. I heard about some weird plane crash situation from Lou. You guys handling it?”  _

“We were asked to help,” Steve replied carefully. 

_ “Alright. How’s it going?”  _

“There’s...uh...well it’s probably something better explained face to face than over the phone. The military was involved so...uh, think you can catch the next flight out?” Steven asked. As much as he knows this will raise Danny’s blood pressure, he’d rather have his husband by his side. 

_ “Everything okay? _ ” Danny asked and Steven could hear the worry in his voice. 

“Yes. We’re all fine anyway. Things just...got weird.” 

_ “Weird how?”  _

“I swear to god I have nothing to do with it...but yet, no one believes me.” 

_ “ _ **_Did_ ** _ you have anything to do with it?” _ Danny asked, and Steven knew that based on past experience, his husband had every right to ask that. 

“No! Danny, I promise you I had nothing to do with it.” Steven promised. 

_ “Okay. I believe you, babe.”  _

Steven let out a breath of relief he didn’t know he was holding. He  _ did _ have a track record of getting into trouble because of his impulsive decisions. But Danny understood the root of those decisions always were in the name of helping out someone innocent and in need. 

This situation was weird on so many levels, and though he’s sure Danny will have his own reaction to things, he didn’t want to be on his husband’s bad side for it. Not when he really had no fault in this. But Danny and him have made it clear to not have secrets. It was quite the balance they had to find, but one they both understood when it came to the terms of their pasts and the jobs they worked. In that sense...some things that were classified were okay. But as a couple in a serious relationship, they didn’t have secrets and they trusted the other. So when he tells Danny he had nothing to do with it, of course, Danny will actually believe him.

He wasn’t keeping this a secret. Not exactly. But it wasn’t something easily discussed over the phone. Plus, there was no reason to have Danny stressed out during the flight back. 

_ “You and the kids are alright though, right?”  _

“Yeah. Gerard was just showing me and Quinn the pictures fo them at the park. Apparently Scotty here’s popular among the butterflies.” Steve said as he kissed the top of his son’s head. 

_ “I saw them too. Let me say hi. I miss my boys.”  _

“Say hi to Danno, baby.” Steven said as he ‘passed the phone over’. Scotty gurgled and babbled in his baby speak, recognizing Danny’s voice over the line. After a bit, he took the phone back. “Call me with your flight info, okay babe? I’ll pick you up. Okay...yeah, we’ll call you for bedtime. No matter what voices I do, they only sleep with you reading them  _ Goodnight Moon.  _ I love you, Danno.” 

“Danny’s on his way back?”

Steven turned to see his double in the entryway, holding an empty pizza box and a couple of empty beer bottles.

“ _ My _ Danny, yeah.” He wasn’t sure why he suddenly felt possessive. Though he’s not surprised. He’s always been the jealous sort, especially when it came to Danny. Even before they got together. He was the Steve McGarrett that had the courage to pursue the love of his life. This might be some sort of eye-opener for his double, but he didn’t need nor want him to explore whatever feelings he had on  _ his _ Danny! “But yeah. So before he gets here...any idea of how the he-” He looked down at Scotty who was looking between his dad and his dad’s look-alike. Steven caught himself in time, but just barely, “-ck this happened?” He knew that Catherine didn’t have a clue, but he got a different sense from his double.

“Maybe. But it’s out there.” Steve told him. 

“Any more out there than standing in front of me right now?” Steven countered. 

“Fair point. Well, according to a guy who told he was Hermes, I apparently ticked off the Greek Goddess of Love.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Even though I knew what I wanted this chapter to have, I could not find the motivation to literally write >.> So I'm very sorry this took forever. It's not exactly what I wanted it to be but I hope you guys like it well enough :)
> 
> Yes, the boys were named after the boy's actors. It's both a cheap cop-out but also a weird meta/parallel comment??? XD
> 
> I've been having a rough time, so I hope this helps anyone else who might be having a rough time too. Thank you for all the lovely people who comment, it really makes such a difference in my life and inspires me to write even more! You're all so amazing and I thank you dearly!


	5. Chapter 5

“This is totally insane.” Catherine paced back and forth. After Steve had talked to his alternate self and did his best to try and explain things, Catherine and Quinn had gone in search of the boys. Both to see if there had been any new revelations, but also the awkwardness was only growing as well as the tension. 

Scotty got very fussy and so Steven excused himself to go tend to him. Quinn wanted to stay and help but she was called in for work. She told Steve she’d handle the team until something was resolved. Gerard took Alex to his room and Charlie went up to his room too, they assumed. 

Steve wondered what sort of renovations the house went through. With as many kids, even with Grace at college, he had seen part of the structure from outside different from his own. He’d just been too distracted by his double to pay too much mind, but he’s sure they’ve added another floor, for more rooms. But that would have to wait to be explored. 

“It is.” Steve agreed. He was fighting off a lot of headaches. The bits and pieces that were coming through though were all forming a strong and powerful one together. 

“We have to get out of here,” Catherine said. 

Steve gave her a look. “I’m barely fathoming how we even got here. If I knew how to get home, don’t you think I’d try that?” 

“No, I mean get out of this house.” She told him as she crossed her arms and took a firm stance. 

Steve made a face that was very confused, “I live here, Cath.” 

“No, you don’t! As fucking weird as it is to accept we’re actually in another fucking universe, that’s what it is! And this isn’t  _ your _ house! This is the...this belongs to…”

“The McGarrett-Williams family?” Charlie surprised them both but supplied a response. 

Steve could read between the lines and saw that Catherine was still hung up on the fact that the Steve of this world was  _ married _ , and happily so, to the Danny of this world. More than that, they were thriving. He wasn’t sure what to feel about that and didn’t really want to get into it. 

“Charlie! What are you doing up?” Steve turned away from Catherine and forced a smile as he looked at the blond child. 

“I’m hungry. Came for something to eat.” Charlie replied in a rather cool tone. The tension had clearly been high, but he ignored it. Reaching into the fridge he pulled out a juice box.

“Isn’t it a bit late for a snack?” Catherine asked him. 

It was pretty obvious she wasn’t used to speaking to kids of his age too often. She and his dad’s double were clearly in some sort of heated discussion before he came along, and he would have stayed in the living room, but he was a growing boy and he was hungry. 

Punching the straw into the box and taking a sip he looked between the two adults and said, “It’s the weekend. This is  _ my _ house, and I can do what I want...within reason. Not going hungry seems within reason, doesn’t it?” He sassed. Normally that would get him a mark of some sort and he’d not have an allowance for a month, but he got a pretty good idea from his dad that he could tell this lady the F word and he’d be rewarded with a sundae. “Besides, ‘adult conversations’ are more so reserved for the lanai.” 

Catherine’s face contorted into something Charlie’s never seen someone’s face do. She then shared a stare with Steve before bolting out the door. 

Steve watched her go and looked back to Charlie when he finished his juice box and the slurping sounds filled in the silence. Charlie threw his juice box into the garbage with a free throw move before looking at the older man and saying, “She’s not having that good a time here, is she?” 

“No.” Steve sighed in response. He contemplates heading after Catherine, something he assumed she expected, but he focused on Charlie. The kid began to take out ingredients and so Steve asked, “What’s on the menu?”

“Grill cheese. With soup.” Charlie replied as he placed the cheese on the counter, pulled out the bread, and then used a stepping stool to pull out a can of tomato soup and a sauce pot from their stored places. “Danno would throw a fit about using the canned stuff, but between you and me, dad and I love it.”

“Right…” Steve said. It was still surreal. All of it. The fact that Charlie takes it all in stride is also something miraculous, but also something just so... _ Danny _ ! Steve’s incredibly thankful for it because as hard as all the adults were trying to remain sane, they were all on edge. “Whoa! What are you doing?” Steve snapped out of his thoughts when he saw Charlie try to start the stove. 

“It’s a hot sandwich and a hot soup,” Charlie said plainly. 

“I might not be your dad, but I get the strong feeling you’re not allowed to use the stove unsupervised,” Steve told him. He sometimes got the odd feeling of when he gave Danny’s kids orders. Like he was overstepping in some ways, so he tries really hard to only do it with the obvious things. Or only when he was actively babysitting and in charge. This was weird for another reason, but he still stood by his reasoning. 

“Cooking is something I’m not new to. I’ve been cooking with Danno since forever and grilling with dad since I was four.” Charlie still argued. 

“Still, I bet if I asked Gerard or your dad they’d agree they’d prefer you let this be done by an adult,” Steve told him. 

“Danno found a flight like an hour after dad and he talked. Dad’s off to collect him. Gerard’s in the nursery having a heck of a time getting the kids to sleep. They won’t. Not til Danno reads them ‘ _ Goodnight Moon _ ’.” 

That made Steve still. Not the part where the kids only seem to be able to sleep after Danny reads to them, but the fact that he would soon meet this world’s Danny. The Jersy detective that fell in love, married, and made a family with his alternate self. 

“Danny’s almost here?” Steve questioned, sparing a quick look over to where Catherine had stormed off. Then he looked back to Charlie, “Look...just let me help you okay?”

“You’re avoiding her. Why? Aren’t you guys at least friends?” 

Leave it to kids to not be afraid to ask bold and direct questions. 

“It’s...complicated.” 

“Gerard says that that answer’s bull. It may feel complicated but it’s really not. You guys aren’t married. But she feels like you should be? My dads aren’t straight. Danno’s pan and dad’s bi. Are you bi?” Charlie asked as he searched for a grater so he could grate the cheese for his sandwich. His dads' sexuality was something he had to learn mostly because of some fuss made by one of his mom's friends. He didn't care much himself since his dads were his dads, but he did learn about different terms people used to identify themselves. Holding up the cheddar and grater, “You want one too?” 

Steve was stuttering and floundering in reaction. His heart was racing and his ears were burning. 

“I’ll grate enough for both of us.” Charlie decided as he began to grate. “I only ask that because I’m questioning why you’re not with your Danno.”

“It’s compli-” He stopped when Charlie gave him a deadpanned look. Sighing again, he thought about an answer he felt comfortable giving the kid. He tried to put some actual thought into his answer. Did he find women attractive? Yes. He’s been able to be with women before without any or much  _ problems _ . Any  _ problems _ he did have were because of stress or the job...or something was going on with the team because of the stressful job they all had. Did he find men attractive? Well….yes? It was odd for him to think it but times have changed drastically since he had first enlisted. 

Not only was he no longer part of the military in that way, but being around open-minded people who loved for the sake of loving the person and not something out of their control, has been a new environment for Steve too. Did he think Danny or Harry were attractive? Yes. Both of those options immediately came to mind because they were two of the men he knew who cared to put effort into their appearance in a way that Steve would banter with them with. But did Steve find them sexually or romantically attractive? 

For that question, his mind immediately brought up Danny. And he wasn’t really sure what to do with that. 

“Not knowing  _ is _ an answer.” 

“What?” Steve choked out as Charlie’s voice brought him out of his thoughts. 

“Not knowing. It’s an answer. A bit of an unsatisfying one, but it’s still a legit one. Gerard tried explaining this alternative-multiverse thing, which seems to be part of the equation. There are a lot of things that are alike. But there are differences that can be as small as you deciding to take a different street one day or choosing to have eggs and bacon instead of pancakes. Small choices that differ the greater impact. He...got  _ really _ into it but that’s what I got out of it.” 

Gerard was actually pretty excited about it, it’s why his dad had spent a lot of time upstairs after getting Scotty to stop fussing and actually nap. His dad had Gerard explain the basics of his theory, which was hard enough to keep Gerard focused enough not to go off on a tangent topic. Once he got the gist of it, plausible ideas of how to move forward once Danno arrived and they would work on a solution, then came a harder task. Getting Gerard not to geek out and keep it a secret. Sometimes Charlie forgets how cool and soldiery his dad can be. 

Shaking his head, he came back to the topic at hand. “My dad, this world’s you, made decisions that let him explore his being into guys. How much? I dunno. It’s weird to think about your parents with other people...they’re your parents, ya know?”

“You’re...you’re still you. Clever, totally Danny’s kid, amazing.” Steve told Charlie with a small smile. 

Charlie smiled back, “Thanks. But I’m also a McGarrett. It might be weird but dad’s been here for me my whole life. A lot more than mom and step-Stan.” 

That made Steve’s throat go dry for a moment. He busied himself with preparing to make Charlie’s sandwich. He’s made his fair share of them back in his world, so he thinks he’ll make a decent one here. 

“Is he really a good dad?” Steve asked quietly. Really asking, ‘ _ Would I make a good dad _ ?’

“If he wasn’t, then those father’s day mugs I’ve gotten him for father’s day are lies,” Charlie replied cheekily.

As he uncapped the soup by its opener and poured it into the saucepan to heat up, he added, “He’s always been here from the beginning. If he was ever gone, it was because of a job, and the moment he got back, no matter the time of day or where I was, he’d come and find me to hug me. Either Danno will get me out of school or he and Danno will interrupt class and I’d get to hug him, and sometimes Danno too if he went to go after him, while he’s still in camo gear. That one was very emotional. The teacher was a sobbing mess. But so were we.” Charlie smiled and shrugged, “He’s my dad. And I love him.” 

Steve noticed how despite Rachel still being married to a Stan in this world, Charlie called him Step-Stan. While Charlie called his alternate self ‘dad’. If that didn’t supply everything that was missing from Charlie’s amazing speech, he didn’t know what did. 

He was happy for them, he was. Happy that Danny had someone to help him with the kids in every way possible, he was happy that the kids had two loving parents who took care of them in every way needed and that the love and trust were there. 

But he also felt jealous, because it proved that this could have been possible for him. Steve also felt...ashamed? Like a failure? He wasn’t sure which word fits best, but he was feeling something of the sort. 

This Charlie was clever and keen, caring, and helpful. A bigger mixture of being raised by both Danny and him with shared parental styles. He did his best to help Danny with the kids in his world, but...he could have been  _ more _ to Charlie. 

After the sandwich was made and the soup was heated, Steve left Charlie to his meal before heading out to deal with Catherine. 

She hadn’t wandered off and was glowering at him when she saw him approach. Steve met that with a scowl of his own. 

“Stev-”

“We’re not leaving.”

“This isn’t-”

“But this is where we’ll get help. This is where we’ll be safe and have answers.”

“But-”

“The McGarrett of this world is picking up Danny now.”

“How the hell is that supposed to help?” Catherine demanded. Forcing herself to have a full sentence out. “Is the Danny of this world some sort of warlock that can zap us back? What can he do, that we can’t figure out between us?”

Steve’s eyes widened a bit. She had a point, sure, but he didn’t like her tone. “The more people to help-”

“Then we should have stayed within military custody. If anyone would be able to get answers and get us back, it would be  _ our _ people!” 

“Did you  _ not _ see any movies in the 80’s?” Steve demanded, echoing some of what Ares told him. “We’d be experimented on, Cath! We’d be locked up and kept as lab rats! We’re  _ free _ here! With people we  _ trust _ ! With people I like!” 

“Like Danny?” 

Somehow, that question felt like a slap to the face. He thinks maybe Catherine’s forgotten rank and that he was a soldier too. So he stood his ground and fought back, “Yeah, I like Danny. Is that a problem?” 

“This isn’t our world, Steve! This isn’t some prophecy to be! This isn’t some revelation about you and...and…”

“Say it.” He ordered. 

“You’re _not_ gay.” She growled out. 

  
“No. I’m not gay.” He relented that much. Because he knew he was attracted to women. But not  _ just _ women. “I’m bi.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing block is a bitch...but not as big a bitch as Catherine- HAYOOOOOO! xD sorrynotsorry. 
> 
> I know a lot of you guys may have expected Danny in this chapter to finally arrive. Honestly? Me too. But this is what was produced and I liked writing it. 
> 
> Like, let me vent for a moment? You don't have to read this part. But like the bit of fighting that's going on here? This is small echos of what canonly would happen the moment Steve starts realizing some of his real feelings, or how he'll never stop talking about his family or his Danny? Like...honestly what can he and Cat talk about? She's been on missions that even though he's got rank, he wasn't privy to them so she can't talk about her work in the past couple of years beyond the very basics. She might not even be able to tell him locations or names or stuff...and Steve's got years and years of Danny and his O'hana. How long before he gets tired of her not being able to share anything with him? How long before she gets sick of hearing nothing but 'Danny and the kids this' and Danny and the kids that, and can you believe Harry was flirting with my Danny when I was RIGhT there?!' 
> 
> Ahem. Uh...xD hope you like it, thank you to everyone who comments, you make my day!


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